We are planning a late May 2024 trip to Rome, Amalfi Coast, and Sorrento. There will be four of us: myself, my husband, and our two teenage children.
We're trying to decide from time/money/convenience perspectives whether it's better to:
1.) Fly one way into Rome, then one way home from Naples
OR
2.) Fly round trip in and out of Rome, taking a train back to Rome from the south.
Any thoughts or experiences are very much appreciated!!
--Ellen
First, you need not do two one way tickets, you use the airlines booking site, select "multi-city" and then put in the segments you want. This is called an "Open Jaw" ticket and should be about the average of a round trip flight to each of those cities, much cheaper than one way.
Second, flying out of Naples, for most, will require a stop somewhere in Europe, and a layover. While getting on the flight will be easier, the addition of an extra leg has some inconvenience. If you could get a direct flight sure. If you are going to wind up with a stop in Europe flying from Rome, then fine; but I would not willingly add a stop. Getting to Rome from Naples is so easy and fast, I would opt to head back to Rome. For that I would plan a last night there, or plan Rome at the end of the trip or split your time in Rome.
Others will warn about backtracking, to fly out of Naples, but adding a layover does not make sense, plus that will likely force an early departure from Naples, causing another issue with trying to get from Sorrento/Amalfi Coast to Naples airport early in the morning, a time consuming, and possibly expensive option (for a private driver).
I have flown RT into Rome for my recent vacations. I went straight to the south from the airport, and ended in Rome before flying out.
Another thing is that you MIGHT not have to make a flight connection if going in and out of Rome. You probably will if you do in or out of Naples. I know myself and I like the ease of ONLY trains from the Rome Airport to Salerno when I arrive and don't want to think too much. If y'all are leaving from Naples, then you will probably have to find a way to the airport EARLY in the morning (and it is smart to be in Naples proper the night before and that would put a damper on your last day in country).
I would either do into Rome and train down to Sorrento immediately and out of Rome, OR into Naples and out of Rome. I don't love anything about getting to the Naples airport early in the morning.
You need to price and sketch out both options, then decide. There is a 6:30am bus from Sorrento to the Naples airport we took this past fall for a 10:30am flight. If you have a departure before 10am you'd probably need a car service at a significantly higher price.
If you fly back from Rome you need to be in Rome the day before your flight; it is too risky to take a train from the Sorrento area the day of your flight even if you give a few hours of padding. If your time in Rome is long enough you could split your time; 3 days on arrival, then another 2 days after Sorrento. It will take about half a day when all is said and done to get from Sorrento to your hotel in Rome.
So for maximizing vacation time flying back from Naples is probably better but the flight may be more expensive or have more connections.
I don't know which continent, country and city you are writing from but if you live outside of Europe there is a high chance that you may not get a direct flight from Naples to your airport.
If you are located in North America starting May/June 2024 there will be a Delta flight from NAP to New York-JFK, a United flight from NAP to Newark-EWR and an American Airlines flight from NAP to Philly-PHL. Not sure if they will be available for your specific dates of travel.
The alternative would be to fly from NAP to another European hub (including Rome) and from there go to your destination.
The choices are yours, however know that to travel from Sorrento to the NAP airport it's about 1.5 hours, therefore many people prefer to sleep in Naples on the last night, especially if the flight is very early.
If flying in and out of Rome, then the best strategy would be to visit of Rome for last at the end of your trip period. That means going to Sorrento on the same day you land (that is very doable provided your flight doesn't arrive to late in the evening), then come back to Rome for the last portion of your trip (hopefully at least 3 nights in Rome, or, even better, 4 nights).
We fly most of our trips via open jaw. We try to fly into the more difficult airport and home from the easier one. For your trip I would fly into Naples and home from Rome. From Rome is more convenient with better options. Naples is a small airport and connection to a home bound flight is more difficult -- longer day. You have several direct flights from Rome back to the US options. We have never open jaw, multi cities tickets to be more expensive (+ or - $100) and sometimes cheaper. Where in the US???
Where in the US???
Objection, your honor, assumes facts not in evidence.
If I were OP I would look at the cost of 'home' to Naples and Rome to 'home' ( multi city ticket) and compare that to RT to Rome and add on the cost of the the 2nd trip between Rome/Naples to see which is truly the better deal/value, accounting for the time difference that may be involved.
Joe's strategy is the best.
Compare the cost of the following:
1. Multi city option flight (Home>Naples NAP + Rome FCO>Home) plus ground transportation (Napoli Central>Roma Termini)
vs.
2. Round trip flight (Home>Rome FCO>Home) plus ground transportation (Rome Fiumicino Aeroporto station>Napoli Centrale + Napoli Centrale>Roma Termini)
The time and convenience should be taken into consideration. I think the first option would be preferable to me, depending on flight convenience, however if the price is excessively more, I'd go with no. 2.
Do not mistakenly think it's a slam-dunk to get to the Naples airport on a morning you woke up in Sorrento. We were in Sorrento the last week of May eight years ago, and it (and the AC) were already jammed. This is not an area of Interstate Highways and air-conditioned SUVs.
